Mite-borne disease kills 13 in Jaipur since July

At least 13 persons have lost their lives due to a mite-borne disease since July this year in Jaipur.

Scrub typhus is caused by the bite of vectors like mites and fleas living on lush green grass during the rainy season.

Nine patients died of scrub typhus while 169 others were found positive and are being treated at Sawai Man Singh Hospital, Dr Raman Sharma, nodal officer and professor of medicine at the hospital, said today.

Four scrub typhus deaths were reported at Santokhba Durlabh Memorial Hospital since July this year and 118 other positive cases were treated here, Dr G R Singhvi, hospital superintendent said.

Last year, Sawai Man Singh hospital had reported seven deaths due to the disease and 67 positive cases were treated, Dr Sharma said.

Due to incessant rains and a dense growth of weeds in agriculture fields this season, the disease got rampant in rural areas of Virat Nagar, Amber, Bassi, Chaksu, among others, Dr Sharma said.

"Undoubtedly, this year the disease of mite or flea is in the virulent form and needed a special attention to control it by the state government's medical and health department," Singhvi said.

Earlier, the disease was prevalent in hilly regions, but it migrated to planes of semi-arid regions in Rajasthan slowly, the doctor said.

Suggesting precautions against the disease, Sharma said that people, mainly women, in rural areas should avoid going to open fields with lush greenry during rainy season to relieve themselves.